Affective Empathy Various Definitions

Sharing Emotions

1.  Sensing Into the others Feelings
   (The Listener senses into the experience of the speaker and senses their feelings.)

   • • feeling  what someone else feels. (vicariously sharing the emotion.)  

2. Affect Sharing
   (The Listener sharing the feelings of the Speaker.)

   • "Affective response is a physiological component that involves the automatic and unconscious process of affect sharing, or the mirroring of another person’s actions.  For example, when sitting with a client who is crying, a practitioner might feel as if she or he is going to cry. This is a result of the automatic mirroring action that is going on unconsciously. Our mirroring neuron system activates the same physiological sensations as if we are actually doing the action. However, rather than begin to cry, the practitioner experiences the other components of empathy that are triggered to process this affective response. The other three components are cognitive processes. "  (WAGAMAN + 2014) 

   • mimicking another's emotional response

   • to empathize with someone is the process of coming to feel what the other is feeling.

   • the question is how much does the speaker feel what the speaker is feeling and does it block the speakers ability to continue to sense into the speaker more deeply.

   • Affective (Emotional) Empathy – The ability to feel what another person is feeling or to share their emotional experience.

     • • Example: A friend tears up when seeing another person cry because they feel their sadness.

       • Key Theorists: Nancy Eisenberg, Martin L. Hoffman

   • Empathy Circle Example:  

3. State Matching
   (The Listener matches feelings of the Speaker.)

   • • "affective empathy, and refers to the inner feelings that arise and the subtle copying of expressions that happens when we see others express emotion."  (SIMON-THOMAS)

   • Empathy Circle Example:  

4. Emotional Contagion
   (The Listener taking on the feelings of the Speaker.)

   • Empathy Circle Example:  

5. Union or fusion - Losing a Sense of Self

An Emotional Reaction

6.  Emotional - Feeling Reaction
   Various parts of what is called affective or emotional empathy are the reactions to what happens in the Listener in reaction to what they are hearing from the speaker.

   • Quote: "Affective empathy is seen as an emotional reaction"  (Cabedo-Peri+ 2021)

     • • Feeling Personal Distress (empathic distress)

         • • Empathy Circle Example:  

       • Feeling Sympathy  

         • • Empathy Circle Example:  

       • Feeling Concern 

         • • Empathy Circle Example:  

     • Feeling a desire to help and doing so.

       • • Empathy Circle Example:  

     • Any Reaction - Joy, Anger, Fear, Sorrow, 

7. Projection 

   • (The Listener projects their feeling onto the speaker.) 

   • Empathy Circle Example: 

8. Identification 

   • (The Listener Identifies with the 

   • Empathy Circle Example: 

   • 
     
9.